Franck Petitjean to face unbeaten Adam Azim on November 18 in England
Franck Petitjean will face rising star Adam Azim in Wolverhampton, England on November 18, it was announced earlier today by the European Boxing Union (EBU).
The road to Petitjean-Azim has been a complicated situation. Then-champion Enoch Poulsen narrowly edged past Petitjean (UD 12) in April 2022. However, an error by the referee lead to the Petitjean camp protesting the result. That was upheld by the EBU, which mandated a rematch. Both parties were unable to come to an agreement and Poulsen vacated the title under the condition that he would get to fight for his old title at a later date.
Petitjean bested Samuel Molina (MD 12) to claim the vacant title in June. He was then called upon to meet Poulsen. Again the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
There were rumors that Wasserman Boxing wanted Harlem Eubank to face Petitjean but nothing came of that.
Recently Boxxer reached out to make a fight between Azim and Petitjean. Matchroom protested, wanting their man, reigning British and Commonwealth beltholder Dalton Smith to face Petitjean instead.
It has recently been in the news that Matchroom made an offer for Azim to face Smith. The fight wasn’t agreed to and ultimately, the EBU accepted Azim as the next opponent for Petitjean with two caveats.
The winner of Petijean-Azim will have to face Poulsen by the end of February 2024. The winner then must without acceptation face Dalton Smith.
Petitjean (24-6-3, 6 knockouts) has been a professional since 2010. Although he lost a couple of fights, he was able to learn from them and move his career forward. The now 35-year-old southpaw won the French national title and moved into European class. Though came up short against Mohamed Mimoune (UD 12) and Poulsen (UD 12). However, most recently, he claimed the European title beating out Samuel Molina (MD 12).
Azim (9-0, 6 KOs) turned professional in December 2020 and has caught the attention of many who are proclaiming him as a future world champion. The 21-year-old British fighter scored three first round stoppages last year and has stepped up his competition with two wins over International rivals Santos Reyes (UD 10) and Aram Faniian (UD 10).
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